The Pioneer Press’ Rachel E. Stassen-Berger writes: “Just two days after Jennifer Carnahan was elected chairwoman of the Minnesota Republican Party, she dealt with a Facebook post from she called ‘repugnant hate speech.’ The post, from the 7th Congressional District Republican Party, called Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison a ‘head Muslim goat humper.’ Hours after being asked her thoughts about the post, Carnahan tweeted: ‘The hate speech from the 7th CD GOP does not reflect our party or the 7th CD. As chair, I will not tolerate this activity in our party.’ … A few hours later, Carnahan said the person who made the post had resigned.”
Never mind. Stribber Libor Jany reports, “Minneapolis police Lt. John Delmonico, whose appointment last month to lead the Fourth Precinct provoked a public outcry and turned into a clash between the city’s mayor and police chief, withdrew his name from consideration on Monday. The sudden announcement came days after Mayor Betsy Hodges, in an unprecedented move, publicly overruled Chief Janeé Harteau’s decision to appoint him, saying that the one-time police union head was the wrong fit for the job. When reached by phone on Monday, Delmonico said that while he was disappointed by the outcome, he would ‘continue to do the good things that the North Side does every day and that it has for the last eight months.’”
St.Olaf’s protest against racist speech has caught the attention of The Washington Post. Writes Lindsey Bever, “Administrators at a liberal arts college in Minnesota canceled classes Monday to meet with students following a weekend of protests against hate speech on campus. Hundreds of students at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., staged a peaceful protest Saturday evening inside a student union building after racist expressions against students.”
The phrase “death wish” comes to mind. Paul Walsh of the Strib reports, “A motorcyclist who was caught on a Fargo interstate going 140 miles per hour has crashed 14 months later near the same spot and died, authorities said. Tanner Beighley, 24, of Fargo, was heading south on 45th Street and struck a car exiting from northbound Interstate 94, police said. The car had the green light at the time, police added. No one in the vehicle was hurt.”
Foreshadowing its collapse, obviously. Christopher Snowbeck of the Strib writes, “A new state report finds health insurance coverage grew significantly in rural Minnesota during the early years of the federal health law. Overall, the uninsured rate among residents under age 65 declined significantly between 2011 and 2015 in both rural and urban areas, landing in both segments at just 5 percent, according to the study released Monday by the Minnesota Department of Health.”
So as not to crush their entrepreneurial spirit. In the PiPress, David Montgomery writes, “Both the Minnesota House and Senate voted this year to limit what internet service providers can do with their customers’ data. But those provisions have been dropped from a compromise bill unveiled Monday. Lawmakers say the language could still be added back into the bill in the three weeks remaining before this year’s legislative session ends … .”
The lobbyist speaks. MPR’s Tim Nelson has this on the bribery scandal in St. Paul. “The lobbyist at the heart of a government corruption investigation in St. Paul spoke publicly for the first time Monday, as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed it has launched a criminal probe. Lobbyist Sarah Clarke said she met with council member Dai Thao at a St. Paul coffee shop in February about food packaging, and that remarks by Thao, who is also running for mayor of St. Paul, made it uncomfortable. ‘He said at one point that he needed resources, to which my client responded that they would be happy to provide him with additional information,’ Clarke recalled. ‘Again, he said he needed resources to spread his message.’ There was little doubt among the clients she attended the meeting with what Thao meant, said Clarke.”
Oh hell, leave it for a special session. Says Tim Pugmire at MPR: “Minnesota lawmakers are still looking for a compromise on Real ID. House and Senate negotiators began meeting last month to work out the differences between their competing bills, which would bring the state into compliance with the federal Real ID law. But the conference committee hasn’t met recently, and there are no meetings currently scheduled. The issue is important because Minnesotans will soon need an ID that meets the federal standard to board a commercial flight.”
I’ve never liked raccoons. Another MPR story says, “Minnesota is seeing a rising number of cases of canine distemper contracted by dogs and spread by raccoons, state conservation officials said Monday. Cases have been confirmed in Olmsted and Yellow Medicine counties and sick raccoons also have been reported in Dodge, Winona and Kandiyohi counties, the state Natural Resources and Health departments said in a statement.”
“Does not reflect our party.”
Really? The leader of your party is Donald Trump.
Give Her a Cookie
Ms. Carnahan’s immediate repudiation of the offensive post should be a no-brainer. It’s such an obvious thing to do that the only real praise she deserves is for not letting the matter fester and get worse.
The real question she–and other Republicans–should be asking is why the post happened in the first place. Why would a person in a party leadership position not only hold those views, but feel comfortable expressing them? The post did not happen in a vacuum. The still-anonymous individual who posted it apparently thought it was acceptable to do that (although we haven’t heard his/her justifications yet, and probably never will). Isn’t it worth knowing why he or she would feel that way?
As usual RB well stated
Ms. Carnahan’s response was well received, timely, and appropriate. However, if the people she has been tasked with leading feel they should make their intolerant, bigoted, and racist views public. I believe it’s time for GOP leaders to dismiss them from the party and name them publicly. Let everyone of their employers know who they have representing them…then let human resources deal with them accordingly.
Maybe stop with the hate speech and get something done
As Republicans workout their inner struggles with their racist members, maybe they could spend a wee bit of time Governing. Soon Minnesotans are going be barred from boarding flights unless they have a passport. They have control of both houses, but can’t seem to get out of their own way to get something accomplished. Stop looking under the bed for Muslims and your Jobs, for pete’s sake.
What does one expect from a Republican Party., be it one or all?
The racist remark by one unidentified becomes a label for all…so be it one or many, pretty much becomes the sick thoughts rising as a label for the attendant Republican party?
Call it latent exhibitionism…nothing has changed, only exposed?
Look Deeper
Maybe Ms. Carnahan should plan on examining the question of why the Republican party attracts these type of people; and why they feel their garbage will be accepted. This type of thing has happened over and over again on a local level and a national level. When you use a divisive strategy of courting racists to win elections, you provide an environment where some of the garbage floats to the surface. We have a president who gained early support and visibility by pushing his birther views. He now uses Muslims as scapegoats and boogeymen to frighten and distract. And I’m supposed to be impressed because some state party hack found this “repugnant hate speech.” That is even close to the most repugnant thing about your party, Ms. Carnahan.